Game – Movie Review: Silent Hill: Revelation

The first Silent Hill movie was a little bit of a hidden gem, it was far better then it was given credit for but suffered with a confusing story & some actors (Sean Bean) just not really trying. Even still it tried hard to stick to the Silent Hill lore & made movie representations of game characters scary (Pyramid Head/Nurses).

I don’t think I ever expected to see a sequel to it even if it left it open for one but here we are…Silent Hill: Revelation in 3D.

Ok, I hate 3D…so I didn’t watch this in 3D…it made no difference.

This is a terrible movie that makes a mockery of Silent Hill…I would rate is as low as 1/10 if it wasn’t for the numerous references to the games, some of which are excellent & the decision to keep computer effects to a minimum.

Heather Mason & her father Harry Mason (played by Sean Bean again – boo!) move from town to town taking on different identities. Heather believes it is because her dad killed an intruder years before but it’s actually because she is a child of Silent Hill being tracked by the cult who exist there. Heather believes her mother, Rose from the first movie died in a car crash but she actually got trapped in Silent Hill after sending Heather (then known as Sharon) through to Harry.

We are introduced to Heather as she starts at a new school & acts like a bit of a bitch. Turns out she is a bit of a troubled teen having hallucinations of Silent Hill & the alternative world. I do like the imagery involved here & the transformation looks great.

So during all of this she meets a fellow new student called Vincent played by Kit Harington (if you recognise the name it’s because he plays Jon Snow from Game of Thrones) who seems to want to spend a lot of time with Heather. I was suspicious from the get-go…

Anyway…Heather is chased by a private investigator who reveals that her real identity is known by the cult & they are coming to get her & Harry. Alongside Vincent who just won’t take no for an answer she rushes home to find that her father has been kidnapped & a message has been left telling her to come to Silent Hill. So of they go….

Silent Hill is still the same miserable place albeit with a lot more messed up things going on. There are some pretty cool sequences such as the tense nurse bit & Pyramid Head chopping arms off but its lets down by all the filer in between. Beyond these short sections the movie is so boring with very little plot to help it along beside ‘Let’s look for my dad’. There is even a terrible moment where a character is briefly introduced just so she can explain what’s going on!

A confusing story is one thing but when it’s also boring & poorly executed the movie is as good as dead already. The poor continuity with the first movie is unforgivable, for example the cult from both movies is clearly different even though it is said they are the same & the reason for Silent Hill burning down has changed.

If they wanted to make Revelation mirror the game then they should have dropped any reference to the original movie & started again!

So lets talk acting then…The lead, Heather/Sharon is decent enough but the ease in which she goes from ‘confused teen’ to ‘I not only get this but I will stop this’ is annoying. Sean Bean does what he always seems to & sleep walks his way through his brief lines & scenes as does Carrie-Ann Moss as the cult leader. However all of these might as well be Oscar winners compared to Vincent who can’t even sustain the same accent for long. He actually irritated me every time he appeared on screen & I kind of hoped he would get taken out by Pyramid Head or something.

As I said above one of the better things is that they insisted on practical effects as much as possible & it really shows. A lot of the monsters & basic creatures look great if not a bit rubbery.

So no 3D but I noticed some sections where it would have come into play…a monster leaping towards screen, severed fingers & of course….Pyramid Head’s sword! I didn’t see what it could have possible added to the movie & considering my feelings on 3D it probably wouldn’t have helped.

Lastly I do want to talk about my favourite thing about the Silent Hill: Revelation…the hidden references to Silent Hill games. Here are but a few I noticed:

SPOILERS!!

• Robbie the rabbit makes many appearances!

• When Heather is being chased by the PI she uses a pipe as weapon. • In the inn there is a red shoe sitting on the shelf above the bed. • When Heather goes to the Brookhaven Asylum she passes a map on the wall that mirrors the exact map from the Brookhaven Hospital from Silent Hill 3. • The carousel descent plays out very much like it does in the game. • The ending where Sean Bean decides to stay to look for his wife is similar to the end of Silent Hill 2. • The final scene shows a police van flanked by police cars driving into Silent Hill which is the opening of Silent Hill: Downpour.

Just checking on the internet shows there are many more I missed. That these are the best bits of the movie should indicate just how poor the movie is.

One of the biggest let-downs I have ever seen & this was even after my expectations were pretty low. The rubbish acting & nonsensical story is one thing but the complete lack of regard for continuity is a disgrace.

The brief moments involving series characters are enjoyable enough but don’t add anything to the story & seem to be there just to make references to the games characters. If it wasn’t for these moments & the many hidden game references this movie would probably be one of the worst movie I’ve ever seen.